A kinematic evolutionary model for the Penninic sector of the central Ligurian Alps

The nappe pile presently cropping out in the central sector of the Ligurian Alps, is represented by some principal groups of tectonic units. Starting from the foreland, the outer and lower, weakly metamorphic (up to 0.3 GPa) Briançonnais units support the high-pressure (up to 1.3 GPa) ensemble of inner Briançonnais nappes, in turn overridden by the Prepiedmont units, sourced from the European continental margin. Prepiedmont units form two superposed groups. The lower is composed only of a pre-Namurian basement (Alpine metamorphism up to 0.6 GPa); and the upper is mainly composed of a slightly metamorphic (greenschist facies) post-Namurian cover. At the top lie the high-pressure metamorphosed (up to 0.8 GPa in the sector here considered) ophiolitic units. The group of the non-metamorphic Helminthoid Flysch nappes (original stratigraphic cover of the ophiolitic units) has travelled the greatest distance and is presently mainly set onto the outer part of the chain. Only events up to the stacking of the nappe pile are discussed, disregarding late-stage deformation. As the examined sector is located at a considerable distance from the collisional zone, late processes did not change the overall order of superposition formerly acquired. The model proposes the development of two major, subhorizontal detachment surfaces. The first, shallower one confines at the base a very thin-skinned set of nappes, nearly totally made up of Prepiedmont sedimentary covers that are bounded at their top by the Helminthoid Flysch units. Both these groups underwent a mainly horizontal outwards transport. In contrast, the underlying Prepiedmont crust and the adjoining Briançonnais inner sector (separated by the second, deeper major detachment surface) were progressively dragged into the subduction zone under the ophiolitic units and duplexes were generated. Exhumation of the metamorphic units occurred along the subduction channel, as did stacking of the nappe pile.     

Transition from subduction- to exhumation-related fabrics in glaucophane-bearing eclogites, Oman: evidence from relative fabric chronology and Ar/Ar ages

Controversy over the age of peak metamorphism and therefore the tectonic evolution of the Arabian margin relates to the polydeformed and polymetamorphosed nature of glaucophane-bearing eclogites from the Saih Hatat window beneath the allochthonous Samail ophiolite in NE Oman. These eclogites contain relicts of earlier fabrics, structures and metamorphic assemblages and provide a record of change from subduction to exhumation. The eclogites are part of a mafic layer that was disrupted into boudins up to 0.5 km in length within a lower plate shear zone (As Sifah shear zone). The megaboudins not only preserve the relicts of the highest grade of metamorphism but also an early ENE-trending lineation and sheathlike isoclines enveloped by the flat-lying schistosity. The boudin-bearing layer is isoclinally folded with calc-schist, mafic schist and quartz–mica schist, where the regional folds have axes parallel to the NE-trending stretching lineation (a-type folds). Textural evidence suggests multiple growth events for garnet and clinopyroxene, requiring polymetamorphism of the mafic layers that formed the eclogite megaboudins. The surrounding calc-schist and quartz–mica schist are both intensely deformed with transposition foliation containing an NE-trending lineation in phengite and asymmetric shear indicators such as C′-type shear bands and asymmetric pressure shadows around garnets, that give top-to-the-NE sense of shear. Although consistent ENE-trending lineations in all the boudins suggest that they have largely acted as passive, nonrotating rigid bodies, the presence of NE-vergent asymmetric mesofolds, extensive dynamic recrystallisation, multiple generations of phengites and a range of ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar apparent ages within the megaboudins suggest, however, that they have not acted entirely passively during the later deformation. Phengites isolated from the high-P/low-T fabrics show groupings in ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar apparent ages interpreted as distinct metamorphic/cooling intervals at 140–135, 120–98 and 92–80 Ma. Microstructural relations suggest that age groupings younger than 100 Ma reflect phengite growth during exhumation with the top-to-the-NE shearing. The older ages (120–110 Ma) from fabrics that give top-to-the-S shear sense may reflect growth during the subduction phase. The combination of groupings of apparent argon ages older than the crystallisation age of the Samail Ophiolite, the suggestion of different geothermal gradients, and superposed metamorphism suggest that the eclogites and garnet blueschists formed as a result of underthrusting along a break that was not directly related to the metamorphic sole of the ophiolite. The glaucophane–eclogites are interpreted as having formed at different times under varying pressure–temperature conditions during underthrusting with variations in the rate of underthrusting, allowing thermal equilibration and/or rapid cooling at different crustal levels.     

Exhumation process of the Nago subduction-related metamorphic rocks, Okinawa, Ryukyu island arc

The Kunigami zone in Okinawa is an extension of the Shimanto zone, Japan. The rocks make up the main part of the Nago metamorphic rocks, and such metamorphic rocks are exceptional in the Shimanto zone. The Anne complex, in the older Motobu zone, is also metamorphosed. The reason for why and how this kind of the metamorphism occurred, and especially why and how the metamorphic rocks were exhumed, is yet uncertain and unresolved. To understand the metamorphic and exhumation process in Okinawa, a structural study is undertaken, and its relation to the Eocene ridge subduction is discussed. We believe exhumation was performed by formation of a D2 extrusion wedge, made up of the Nago metamorphic rocks. The base for this wedge is a subduction thrust, and the roof is a detachment fault. Internally, there exists another Kijoka detachment fault, which is a brittle low-angle fault with top to the northwest shear sense, and the D2 major recumbent folds and thrusts show top to the southeast opposite shear sense in the Kunigami zone. This is the first report that finds detachment faults from the typical and ancient accretionary complex. M2 is mostly retrograde related to exhumation, but its medium P/T-type prograde metamorphism, abnormal at subduction zones, represents a high thermal gradient during ridge subduction. As a result, this ridge subduction is responsible for exhumation. At the time of accretion of the Kunigami zone, D1 ductile contraction and constriction exhibited top to the southeast shear sense, but an opposite and extensional shear sense is recognized in the proto-wedge. During D1, the wedge had already been active and begun to exhume. M1 of the Miyagi complex is accretion related and also of medium P/T-type metamorphism, and is a consequence of Cretaceous ridge subduction without any ability to cause much exhumation.     

对中国中部超高压榴辉岩的P—T轨迹及回返机制的新认识

中国中部超高压变质带中的榴辉岩一般发育４～５个变质演化阶段：前榴辉岩阶段、榴辉岩峰期阶段、早期高压退变阶段、晚期退变阶段和后期叠加变质阶段。本文依据这一变质演化的研究，得出了一条与以往不同的Ｐ－Ｔ轨迹。它表明榴辉岩回返时首先沿俯冲带缓慢上升到较浅部位，出现与进变质过程相似的Ｐ－Ｔ轨迹；然后主要涉及地壳范围的，与碰撞造山有关的推覆作用使其进一步迅速回返，出现绝热抬升轨迹。这种双阶段双机制的回返模式不仅与榴辉岩中发育的变质作用过程相符，而且可以解释榴辉岩研究中一系列难以理解的问题。     

Structural development of the Tso Morari ultra-high pressure nappe of the Ladakh Himalaya

A continental subduction-related and multistage exhumation process for the Tso Morari ultra-high pressure nappe is proposed. The model is constrained by published thermo-barometry and age data, combined with new geological and tectonic maps. Additionally, observations on the structural and metamorphic evolution of the Tso Morari area and the North Himalayan nappes are presented. The northern margin of the Indian continental crust was subducted to a depth of > 90 km below Asia after continental collision some 55 Ma ago. The underthrusting was accompanied by the detachment and accretion of Late Proterozoic to Early Eocene sediments, creating the North Himalayan accretionary wedge, in front of the active Asian margin and the 103–50 Ma Ladakh arc batholith. The basic dikes in the Ordovician Tso Morari granite were transformed to eclogites with crystallization of coesite, some 53 Ma ago at a depth of > 90 km (> 27 kbar) and temperatures of 500 to 600 °C. The detachment and extrusion of the low density Tso Morari nappe, composed of 70% of the Tso Morari granite and 30% of graywackes with some eclogitic dikes, occurred by ductile pure and simple shear deformation. It was pushed by buoyancy forces and by squeezing between the underthrusted Indian lithosphere and the Asian mantle wedge. The extruding Tso Morari nappe reached a depth of 35 km at the base of the North Himalayan accretionary wedge some 48 Ma ago. There the whole nappe stack recrystallized under amphibolite facies conditions of a Barrovian regional metamorphism with a metamorphic field gradient of 20 °C/km. An intense schistosity with a W–E oriented stretching lineation L₁ and top-to-the E shear criteria and crystallization of oriented sillimanite needles after kyanite, testify to the Tso Morari nappe extrusion and pressure drop. The whole nappe stack, comprising from the base to top the Tso Morari, Tetraogal, Karzok and Mata–Nyimaling-Tsarap nappes, was overprinted by new schistosities with a first N-directed and a second NE-directed stretching lineation L₂ and L₃ reaching the base of the North Himalayan accretionary wedge. They are characterized by top-to-the S and SW shear criteria. This structural overprint was related to an early N- and a younger NE-directed underthrusting of the Indian plate below Asia that was accompanied by anticlockwise rotation of India. The warping of the Tso Morari dome started already some 48 Ma ago with the formation of an extruding nappe at depth. The Tso Morari dome reached a depth of 15 km about 40 Ma ago in the eastern Kiagar La region and 30 Ma ago in the western Nuruchan region. The extrusion rate was of about 3 cm/yr between 53 and 48 Ma, followed by an uplift rate of 1.2 mm/yr between 48 and 30 Ma and of only 0.5 mm/yr after 30 Ma. Geomorphology observations show that the Tso Morari dome is still affected by faults, open regional dome, and basin and pull-apart structures, in a zone of active dextral transpression parallel to the Indus Suture zone.     

Two-stage exhumation of subducted Saxothuringian continental crust records underplating in the subduction channel and collisional forced folding (Krkonoše-Jizera Mts., Bohemian Massif)

The Krkonoše-Jizera Massif in the northern part of the Variscan Bohemian Massif provides insight into the exhumation mechanisms for subducted continental crust. The studied region exposes a relatively large portion of a flat-lying subduction-related complex that extends approximately 50 km away from the paleosuture. wide extent of HP-LT metamorphism has been confirmed by new P-T estimates indicating temperatures of 400–450 °C at 14–16 kbar and 450–520 °C at 14–18 kbar for the easternmost and westernmost parts of the studied area, respectively. A detailed study of metamorphic assemblages associated with individual deformation fabrics together with analysis of quartz deformation microstructures and textures allowed characterisation of the observed deformation structures in terms of their subduction-exhumation memory. An integration of the lithostratigraphic, metamorphic and structural data documents a subduction of distal and proximal parts of the Saxothuringian passive margin to high-pressure conditions and their subsequent exhumation during two distinct stages. The initial stage of exhumation has an adiabatic character interpreted as the buoyancy driven return of continental material from the subduction channel resulting in underplating and progressive nappe stacking at the base of the Teplá-Barrandian upper plate. With the transition from continental subduction to continental collision during later stages of the convergence, the underplated high-pressure rocks were further exhumed due to shortening in the accretionary wedge. This shortening is associated with the formation of large-scale recumbent forced folds extending across the entire studied area.     

中亚巴尔喀什成矿带晚古生代最晚期岩浆侵入事件及其热演化历史

哈萨克斯坦巴尔喀什成矿带是中亚成矿域重要的晚古生代斑岩铜钼和云英岩-石英脉型钨钼成矿带,是受走滑断裂边界控制的中亚多核成矿系统的核心之一。本文根据锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年、40Ar/39Ar热年代学、磷灰石裂变径迹定年和热历史模拟,厘定了巴尔喀什成矿带西部地区晚古生代最晚期深成岩浆侵入事件。研究表明,原来被认为是属于三叠纪的后碰撞花岗岩类侵入岩体,给出锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄为289.7±2.3Ma,为早二叠世。结合前人研究,本文探讨了巴尔喀什成矿带西部从深成岩浆侵入、钨钼成矿作用、区域冷却到剥露作用热历史的全过程。晚古生代最晚期花岗岩类侵入体具有与钨钼矿床相同的晚中生代剥露作用年龄(92.4±5.9Ma)。     

Survival of eclogite xenolith in a Cretaceous granite intruding the Central Dabieshan migmatite gneiss dome (Eastern China) and its tectonic implications

Investigation of an eclogite xenolith, discovered in a Cretaceous granite from the Central Domain of the Dabieshan massif in eastern China, yields new petrological insights into the high to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism, experienced by the Qinling-Dabie orogen. Prior to inclusion as a xenolith in the granite during the Early Cretaceous, this eclogite xenolith had recorded a complex metamorphic evolution that complies with subduction and exhumation processes experienced by the continental crust of the South China Block. Well-preserved mineral parageneses substantiate the prograde and retrograde stages revealed by inclusions in porphyroblastic garnet and zoned minerals such as garnet, omphacite and amphibole in the matrix. The relatively low P/T re-equilibration during a late metamorphic stage was textually inferred by the presence of aluminous and calcic-subcalcic amphiboles such as katophorite, edenite, taramite and pargasite as main matrix phases. According to our U/Pb, Rb/Sr and new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological results, namely109 ± 1 and 112 ± 2 Ma plateau ages for muscovite and amphiboles, respectively, two successive but distinct cooling stages account for the thermal history of the granite–migmatite gneiss dome that forms the Central Dabieshan Domain. We argue that prior to the Cretaceous doming, the Central Dabieshan Domain experienced a tectono-metamorphic evolution similar to that observed in the high-pressure to ultra high-pressure units developed in the Southern Dabieshan Domain and Hong’an massif.     

Thermo-tectonic history of the Junggar Alatau within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt(SE Kazakhstan,NW China):Insights from integrated apatite U/Pb,fission track and(U-Th)/He thermochronology

The Junggar Alatau forms the northern extent of the Tian Shan within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB) at the border of SE Kazakhstan and NW China.This study presents the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic post-collisional thermo-tectonic history of this frontier locality using an integrated approach based on three apatite geo-/thermochronometers:apatite U-Pb,fission track and(U-Th)/He.The apatite U-Pb dates record Carboniferous-Permian post-magmatic cooling ages for the sampled granitoids,reflecting the progressive closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean.The apatite fission track(AFT) data record(partial)preservation of the late Palaeozoic cooling ages,supplemented by limited evidence for Late Triassic(~230-210 Ma) cooling and a more prominent record of(late) Early Cretaceous(~150-110 Ma) cooling.The apatite(U-Th)/He age results are consistent with the(late) Early Cretaceous AFT data,revealing a period of fast cooling at that time in resulting thermal history models.This Cretaceous rapid cooling signal is only observed for samples taken along the major NW-SE orientated shear zone that dissects the study area(the Central Kazakhstan Fault Zone),while Permian and Triassic cooling signals are preserved in low-relief areas,distal to this structure.This distinct geographical trend with respect to the shear zone,suggests that fault reactivation triggered the Cretaceous rapid cooling,which can be linked to a phase of slab-rollback and associated extension in the distant Tethys Ocean.Similar conclusions were drawn for thermochronology studies along other major NW-SE orientated shear zones in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt,suggesting a regional phase of Cretaceous exhumation in response to fault reactivation at that time.     

Tectonic evolution of a crustal-scale oblique ramp,Hellenides thrust belt,Greece

This study investigates the tectonic evolution of the Omalos transverse zone, which served as a crustal-scale oblique ramp in the External Hellenides thrust belt on Crete island. The Omalos oblique ramp developed above an inherited Mesozoic fault zone that strikes NE–SW, oblique to the regional SSW-directed tectonic transport. During the Early Miocene–Pleistocene evolution of the thrust belt, the oblique ramp was repeatedly reactivated localizing deformation above the inherited structure. Geological and structural mapping combined with kinematic analysis of ductile and brittle structures suggest that the Omalos oblique ramp generated a local kinematic field, which deviated significantly from the regional kinematic pattern in the thrust belt. The most conspicuous feature in the tectonic evolution of the oblique ramp is a change from a ductile wrench-dominated to a brittle, primarily reverse faulting regime across the brittle–ductile transition, followed by brittle wrench deformation after the final exhumation of high-pressure (HP) rocks. Deflections of transport and compression orientations from the regional pattern are attributed to buttressing against basement-cover offsets produced by the pre-existing fault zone, to oblique ramping, and to transfer faulting, respectively. Our findings are potentially applicable to other examples of crustal-scale oblique thrust ramps in various tectonic settings.